Prep Football 2017 Preview: Estero upgrades offense, looks to be a force in 2017

The PrepZone team gets you ready for the upcoming high school football season with our daily preview from every training camp in the Southwest Florida coverage area. Today: Estero.
Kelli Krebs/Naples Daily News

Estero High School ranked ninth of 28 schools to be named beautiful Florida high schools by Aceable, a driver's education company. Mariner High School took fifth.(Photo: News-Press file photo)

For the past two seasons, the Estero High School football team’s calling card has been a disciplined, fundamentally sound defense.

Despite going 2-8 in the second year of coach Jeff Hanlon’s tenure, the Wildcats allowed just under 20 points per game, a number that would have been much better if not for a 44-7 blowout loss to Fort Myers late in the season.

While the Wildcats were limiting big plays and holding their own on defense, they just couldn’t generate offense.

Estero averaged just 8.9 points a game last year, so Hanlon went out and did something about it.

He hired a pair of former college coaches to help fix the offense — coordinator Brad Vojcak and quarterbacks coach Chet Walters to revamp the unit — and the results look promising so far.

“Last year, our offensive line struggled with blocking responsibilities, knowing their schemes,” Hanlon said. “Vojcak is an offensive line guy, so he kind of took that unit in as his baby, and the kids are really working well together. They really pushed themselves hard in the offseason, and are totally committed to one another.”

Estero will rely on sophomore quarterback Tanner Elliott, who took over as the starter late last year, to lead the offense. Hanlon says Elliott has made tremendous strides between his freshman and sophomore seasons.

“The thing about Tanner that really stands out is he’s a leader,” Hanlon said. “The guys on the team automatically gravitate to him. He’s not afraid of jumping down a senior lineman’s throat if they’re not finishing a drill properly. He’s always sprinting to the line and shouting encouragement to his teammates. He’s taken control of the offense, and he’s a very smart player.”

Hanlon shared a sideline story about Elliott’s maturity.

During Estero’s spring game victory at Golden Gate, Vojcak would often review things with Elliott, and asked he made certain throws to make sure both were on the same page.

The new offensive coordinator marveled at just how much Elliott had been paying attention during film study and practice.

“(Vojcak) asked him why he made a certain throw, and Tanner said, 'Well, if this happens, you told me to throw it there, and if that happens, you told me to throw it there, but another time you told me if it comes to a third read, you go there.’ That really impressed (Vojcak). It showed him Tanner understood process. There were no delays there. He was making college-level reads and decisions as a high school sophomore.”

The Wildcats return most of their offense from last year, including their entire offensive line.

All the skill players are back, with one notable exception. Junior Willie Neal, who started at quarterback as a freshman and then at wide receiver as a sophomore, transferred to Fort Myers a few days after Estero’s spring game.

Hanlon said the Wildcats still have an abundance of talented receivers, including Myles Alceus, Carson King and Austin Smith. Starting cornerbacks Jesse Vail and Colin Simoneau are also likely to see time at receiver.

“When (Neal) left, it just created more opportunities for other kids, and they’re going to run with those opportunities,” Hanlon said. “When you factor in the work Tanner has done with Coach Walters in improving his footwork, improving his speed, his thought process along with the talented group of receivers we have, we’re really excited about our passing game.”

Defensively, Estero should again be stingy, as most of last year’s returners are back.

Vail, Simoneau and Keevon Clark lead a talented secondary, while converted running back Max Bosi, Ethan Johnson and Christian Warson head the linebacking corps. Veterans Harrison Raynor and Omar De La Garza are among the returning starters on the defensive line.

“The biggest thing about our defense is we don’t give up many big plays,” Vail said. “We may give up some first downs, but we’re able to hold teams off the board. We’ve got a strong front seven that can hold the run and we’ve got good DBs who don’t give up big plays deep.”

Vail said the preseason victory over Golden Gate was an eye-opener for the Wildcats, showing them all the hard work put in on both sides of the ball was paying off.

“That gave us a confidence boost,” he said. “Athlete for athlete, Golden Gate was better than us. But we were disciplined, carried out our game plan and found a way to win.”

Outlook: The Wildcats return 18 starters, giving them legitimate hope of substantial improvement from last year’s 2-8 record. Estero also revamped its offense, bringing in a new offensive coordinator (Brad Vojcak) and quarterbacks coach (Chet Walters) to help guide promising sophomore quarterback Tanner Elliott. Wildcats are hopeful of a second playoff appearance in three seasons under Hanlon.